GEOARCHAEOLOGY OF THE BURNTWOOD CREEK ROCKSHELTER (14RW418), NORTHWEST KANSAS BY © 2008 Laura Renee Murphy Submitted to the graduate degree program in Anthropology and the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Kansas In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master’s of Arts ______________________________ Chairperson: Dr. Rolfe D. Mandel, Anthropology Committee Members: ______________________________ Dr. Jack Hofman, Anthropology ______________________________ Dr. Steven Bozarth, Geography Date Defended_____________________________ 1454277 Copyright 2008 by Murphy, Laura Renee All rights reserved 1454277 2008 The Thesis Committee for Laura Renee Murphy certifies That this is the approved Version of the following thesis: GEOARCHAEOLOGY OF THE BURNTWOOD CREEK ROCKSHELTER (14RW418), NORTHWEST KANSAS Committee: ______________________________ Chairperson: Dr. Rolfe D. Mandel, Anthropology Committee Members: ______________________________ Dr. Jack Hofman, Anthropology ______________________________ Dr. Steven Bozarth, Geography Date approved ______________________________ ii ABSTRACT The Burntwood Creek rockshelter (14RW418) in northwestern Kansas is a large, amphitheater-shaped alcove formed in the Ogallala Formation, a late Miocene/Pliocene-age lithostratigraphic unit underlying the High Plains surface. The processes of rockshelter formation are ascertained through (1) description of the soils and sediments, (2) analysis of the geometry of sedimentary units, (3) grain-size analysis, and (4) thin-section analysis of a carbonate mass. Stable carbon isotope and phytolith data are used to reconstruct late-Quaternary paleoenvironments, and to explore prehistoric Native American subsistence strategies. Results indicate the rockshelter formed by groundwater sapping, and that a complex plant community existed in or around the rockshelter and changed in composition during the late Holocene. Archaeological excavations exposed a 3 m-thick package of late- Quaternary alluvial and colluvial deposits in front of the shelter. These deposits contain stratified Late Plains Archaic and possibly Late Paleoindian cultural materials. Near the back of the shelter, three buried soils are developed in the upper 1.5 m of colluvium. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Rolfe Mandel, for his encouragement, guidance, and support throughout the entire project. I appreciate all that he sacrificed to help me achieve my goals; I am forever indebted to him. I would also like to thank my thesis committee, Jack Hofman and Steve Bozarth, for their time, suggestions, and comments. I am grateful to Wakefield Dort for reviewing my proposal and for his enthusiasm and encouragement. Greg Ludvigson, Evan Franseen, and Luis Gonzalez supported my geological endeavors, got me excited about a variety of methods, and provided access to their microscopes. Art Bettis, University of Iowa, and Molly Davies, University of Missouri-Kansas City, graciously granted me access to their lab facilities and spent time training me on their equipment. Mary Adair offered references and advice, and provided access to the archaeological collections. Greg Cane provided access to the Keck Paleoenvironmental and Environmental Stable Isotope Laboratory, University of Kansas. This project would not have been possible without Jack Russell, Mark Volmut, Brendon Asher, and Chris Hord who sacrificed their own projects and interests to help me with mine. I am grateful for their hard work in the field under the hot Kansas sun and for keeping the snakes away. Also, Shannon Ryan, Chris von Wedell, Andrew Gottsfield, Emily Williams, Nick Kessler, and Ashley Zung continuously encouraged and challenged me, and commiserated and celebrated with me. Eddie Haj and I spent countless hours transforming two old rooms into productive labs where I processed all of my project samples. I am thankful for his mentorship and friendship. Jon Smith helped me with images and formatting issues. Special thanks go to Dean and Theresa Knapp of Bird City, Kansas, who provided access to their land, and Bruce Nickel, the backhoe operator, for his patience and expertise. Special thanks also go to Judy Ross for helping me through all of the graduate school logistics. Finally, I would like to thank my friends in Ohio for their continued support. The research was supported by the Odyssey Archaeological Research Fund and the Carroll D. Clark Research Award from the University of Kansas. iv CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………… 1 Research Objectives………………………………………………………… 4 Significance of Research……………………………………………………. 5 Thesis Outline………………………………………………………………. 6 II. SETTING…………………………………………………………………… 7 Physiography………………………………………………………………... 7 Climate……………………………………………………………………… 9 Soils…………………………………………………………………………. 9 Vegetation…………………………………………………………………… 10 III. ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXT…………………………………………. 15 History of Investigations at the Burntwood Creek Locality………………… 15 History of Investigations on the Central High Plains……………………….. 19 Late Paleoindian........................................................................................ 20 Late Archaic…………………………………………………………….. 24 History of Rockshelters…………………………………………………….. 28 Rockshelter Formation and Processes…………………………………. 28 Late Archaic Rockshelters………………………………………………. 29 Rockshelters in Kansas………………………………………………….. 31 IV. METHODOLOGY………………………………………………………….. 33 Field Methods……………………………………………………………….. 33 Laboratory Methods…………………………………………………………. 36 Stable Carbon Isotopes………………………………………………….. 36 Phytolith Analysis……………………………………………………….. 37 Grain-Size Analysis……………………………………………………… 39 Thin-Section Analysis…………………………………………………… 40 V. RESULTS……………………………………………………………………. 43 Trench 1……………………………………………………………………... 43 Profiles 1 and 2…………………………………………………………. 48 Profile 3…………………………………………………………………. 52 Profile 4…………………………………………………………………. 56 Trenches 3A and 3B………………………………………………………… 60 VII. CONCLUSIONS………………………………………………………….. 66 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………. 71 APPENDIX I. SOIL AND SEDIMENT DESCRIPTIONS…………………… 77 APPENDIX II. RECORDED ROCKSHELTERS IN KANSAS………………. 84 APPENDIX III. RAW PHYTOLITH DATA………………………………….. 86 APPENDIX IV. PROCEDURE FOR EXTRACTING PHYTOLITHS………. 92 v LIST OF FIGURES FIGURES PAGE 1. The Republican River drainage basin………………………………….. 2 2. Google Earth image of the Burntwood Creek Locality………………... 3 3. The Burntwood Creek Rockshelter……………………………………. 4 4. Map of the Great Plains physiographic province and the High Plains subprovince……………………………………………………………… 8 5. Potential natural vegetation map of the Central Great Plains after Küchler (1964)………………………………………………………….. 11 6. Vegetation map of Kansas after Küchler (1974)……………………….. 11 7. The Burntwood Creek bison jump and bonebed……………………….. 17 8. Arroyo at the south end of 14RW2…………………………………….. 17 9. Contour map of the Burntwood Creek Rockshelter……………………. 18 10. County map of Kansas showing the distribution of recorded rockshelters……………………………………………………………… 32 11. Trenches 1 and 3A………………………………………………………. 34 12. Archaeological units adjacent to Trench 1………………………………. 35 13. Trench 1 North wall profile drawing……………………………………. 46 14. Feature 2 in archaeological units adjacent to Trench 1………………… 47 15. Depth function diagram for Profiles 1 and 2 in Trench 1………………. 49 16. Phytolith diagram for Profile 1 in Trench 1……………………………. 51 17. Depth function diagram for Profile 3 in Trench 1……………………… 53 18. Phytolith diagram for Profile 3 in Trench 1, 185-195 cm……………… 55 19. Phytolith diagram for Profile 3 in Trench 1, 40-50 cm………………… 55 vi 20. Depth function diagram for Profile 4 in Trench 1……………………… 57 21. CL image of carbonate mass……………………………………………. 58 22. Plain-polarized and EF images of carbonate mass……………………… 59 23. Depth function diagram for Trench 3A…………………………………. 62 24. Phytolith diagram for Trench 3A……………………………………….. 65 vii LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1. Rawlins County characteristic plant communities and their percent composition by soil……………………………………………. 13 2. Selected Late Paleoindian sites……………………………………….. 23 3. Selected Late Plains Archaic sites…………………………………….. 27 4. Radiocarbon ages from Trench 1……………………………………… 48 5. Conventional radiocarbon ages from Trench 3A……………………… 63 viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The Burntwood Creek locality contains five registered archaeological sites (14RW2, 14RW3, 14RW4, 14RW5, 14RW418) and is located 16 km north of the town of McDonald, Kansas, in the northwest corner of Rawlins County within the Republican River drainage basin (Figures 1 and 2). The Kansas State Historical Society and the University of Kansas Anthropology Department in conjunction with the Odyssey Archaeological Research Program have conducted systematic and opportunistic pedestrian surveys and limited excavations in recent years at the Burntwood Creek locality. Most of the recent work has been at site 14RW2, a Late Paleoindian bison jump containing a thick package of Bison antiquus bones at the base of a large outcrop of the Ogallala Formation, a late Miocene/Pliocene-age lithostratigraphic unit underlying the High Plains surface. The bonebed dates to approximately 9,000 14C yr B.P. based on multiple radiocarbon ages determined on bone collagen, and on organic-rich sediment. Projectile points and lithic material associated with the Allen technological complex (9500-8500 14C yr B.P.) have been recorded from the bonebed (Hofman 2002, Jack Hofman, personal communication 2007). Site 14RW3 is located north of 14RW2 along an outcrop of the Ogallala Formation, and contains many fragments